Filenews 10 May 2022
Sponsorship scheme of €600,000. for the installation or replacement of solar systems for the production of hot water for use in residences, the Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday, following a proposal by the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Natassa Pilidou.
An announcement from the Ministry of Energy states that the Plan, which will be implemented by the RES and EK Fund and is funded by the "Cyprus-Tomorrow" Recovery and Resilience Plan, falls under the strategy for a rapid transition to green energy. The beneficiaries of the project are exclusively natural persons and the aid concerns investments in existing residences in which the application for a building permit or planning permission was submitted before 21.12.2007.
Based on the proposal of Mrs. Pilidou, the Plan is announced this year with significant differences compared to the Plans implemented in previous years, with the aim of enhancing its effectiveness. Among the changes that have been made is that only integrated solar systems (cylinder and solar panels) are now subsidized, which are installed by certified installers.
In addition, the total budget of the Scheme has been increased by 35% while at the same time a significant increase in the amount of sponsorship. Specifically, the amount of the sponsorship amounts to €450 per residence /system (from €350 euros last year - an increase of 28.5%), while for houses that fall in mountainous areas the amount doubles and reaches €900 (from €700 last year – an increase of 28.5%).
As stated in the announcement, the Scheme subsidizes integrated water heating systems (cylinder and frames) whose solar panels are certified Solar Keymark, the hot water cylinder is of energy class B or higher if it has a capacity of up to 200Lt or energy class C or more for a capacity greater than 200Lt. Eligible are only installations of solar systems carried out by certified installers registered in the Registry of Installers of Small Scale RES Systems - Category D: Installers of Solar Thermal Systems. Installations made by persons not included in the registry in question will not be eligible to be subsidized.
It is noted that solar hot water production systems can provide 70% of the annual need in hot water for a residence, without any operating cost and with minimal maintenance, contributing significantly to the reduction of electricity costs.
The Scheme has no retroactive effect and the grant is given only for equipment purchased and installed after the date of the announcement of the Plan. It will remain open until 01/10/2022 or until the final submission of 1300 applications.
All information about the Plan, including the Plan Guide and the application process, can be found on the website of the RES and EK Fund: www.resecfund.org.cy
